Sea ice breakup and marine melt of a retreating tidewater outlet glacier in northeast Greenland (81°N)
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Sea ice breakup and marine melt of a retreating tidewater outlet glacier in northeast Greenland (81°N). / Bendtsen, Jørgen; Mortensen, John; Lennert, Kunuk; Ehn, Jens K.; Boone, Wieter; Galindo, Virginie; Hu, Yu Bin; Dmitrenko, Igor A.; Kirillov, Sergei A.; Kjeldsen, Kristian Kjellerup; Kristoffersen, Yngve; Barber, David G.; Rysgaard, Søren.
In: Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, 4941, 10.07.2017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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T1 - Sea ice breakup and marine melt of a retreating tidewater outlet glacier in northeast Greenland (81°N)
AU - Bendtsen, Jørgen
AU - Mortensen, John
AU - Lennert, Kunuk
AU - Ehn, Jens K.
AU - Boone, Wieter
AU - Galindo, Virginie
AU - Hu, Yu Bin
AU - Dmitrenko, Igor A.
AU - Kirillov, Sergei A.
AU - Kjeldsen, Kristian Kjellerup
AU - Kristoffersen, Yngve
AU - Barber, David G.
AU - Rysgaard, Søren
PY - 2017/7/10
Y1 - 2017/7/10
N2 - Rising temperatures in the Arctic cause accelerated mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet and reduced sea ice cover. Tidewater outlet glaciers represent direct connections between glaciers and the ocean where melt rates at the ice-ocean interface are influenced by ocean temperature and circulation. However, few measurements exist near outlet glaciers from the northern coast towards the Arctic Ocean that has remained nearly permanently ice covered. Here we present hydrographic measurements along the terminus of a major retreating tidewater outlet glacier from Flade Isblink Ice Cap. We show that the region is characterized by a relatively large change of the seasonal freshwater content, corresponding to ∼2 m of freshwater, and that solar heating during the short open water period results in surface layer temperatures above 1 °C. Observations of temperature and salinity supported that the outlet glacier is a floating ice shelf with near-glacial subsurface temperatures at the freezing point. Melting from the surface layer significantly influenced the ice foot morphology of the glacier terminus. Hence, melting of the tidewater outlet glacier was found to be critically dependent on the retreat of sea ice adjacent to the terminus and the duration of open water.
AB - Rising temperatures in the Arctic cause accelerated mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet and reduced sea ice cover. Tidewater outlet glaciers represent direct connections between glaciers and the ocean where melt rates at the ice-ocean interface are influenced by ocean temperature and circulation. However, few measurements exist near outlet glaciers from the northern coast towards the Arctic Ocean that has remained nearly permanently ice covered. Here we present hydrographic measurements along the terminus of a major retreating tidewater outlet glacier from Flade Isblink Ice Cap. We show that the region is characterized by a relatively large change of the seasonal freshwater content, corresponding to ∼2 m of freshwater, and that solar heating during the short open water period results in surface layer temperatures above 1 °C. Observations of temperature and salinity supported that the outlet glacier is a floating ice shelf with near-glacial subsurface temperatures at the freezing point. Melting from the surface layer significantly influenced the ice foot morphology of the glacier terminus. Hence, melting of the tidewater outlet glacier was found to be critically dependent on the retreat of sea ice adjacent to the terminus and the duration of open water.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85022335302&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-05089-3
DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-05089-3
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 28694490
AN - SCOPUS:85022335302
VL - 7
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
SN - 2045-2322
M1 - 4941
ER -
ID: 181384284